Slow-Cooked Pot Roast

Welcome fall! It’s time to get cozy. For me, nothing’s cozier than being holed up in a warm house with football on t.v., my family all around and the smell of a hearty pot roast, freshly baked bread and warm apple crisp in the air.

This pot roast can be cooked in a crock pot or in the oven in a Dutch Oven. Either way, after a few simple steps (browning meat, chopping veggies, and reducing red wine), you can get out of the kitchen and back to the couch, letting the roast cook on its own, low and slow, until it is wonderfully flavorful and fall-apart tender.

VARIATION: To cook the pot roast in the oven instead of the crock pot, preheat oven to 275 degrees. After browning the beef, set the beef on a plate while you add the red wine to the Dutch Oven. Using a spatula, scrape up any brown bits left from the beef. Reduce the red wine by half, stirring occasionally. Add butter and sugar, and swirl to combine. Remove the Dutch Oven from the heat and add the browned beef, along with the carrots, onion, garlic, bay leaves, Worcestershire sauce, beef broth and mushrooms. Cook roast in the Dutch Oven, covered, at 275 degrees for 3.5 to 4 hours, or until veggies are soft and beef is fall-apart tender.